A lively snowball fight with people in winter clothing throwing snow outside amidst a snowy background.

More nothing now

We are most human when we play freely, imaginatively, pointlessly. Gamification risks atrophying that most precious capacity

essaySports and games

More nothing now

We are most human when we play freely, imaginatively, pointlessly. Gamification risks atrophying that most precious capacity

Justin Neuman

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Painting of five women in a living room reading papers, with posters for women’s liberation and feminism on the walls.

essaySex and sexuality

A second sexual revolution

Until Shere Hite’s Report, even the most daring sexologists refused to listen to what women desired and hated in sex

Rosa Campbell

A woman in a red top walking past a large poster of a face, with bold shadows on a sunlit background.

essayCognition and intelligence

The fog of hunger

From childhood, women are trained to restrict their appetite. And there’s a huge, hidden, cognitive price to pay for it

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Aerial photo of Mecca’s Great Mosque at night, filled with pilgrims.

essayRituals and celebrations

Mecca and the mall

In a bid for spiritual renewal, I made a pilgrimage to Islam’s holy city. Almost everything I expected to see was gone

Azania Imtiaz Patel

Watercolour painting of two elderly men with detailed facial features on an abstract background.

essayStories and literature

Culture clash

C P Snow’s ‘Two Cultures’ lecture provoked a savage response from fellow critic F R Leavis. What was at the heart of it all?

Sam Dresser

Lush green gardens with tall tree-like structures and a glass dome in the background under a cloudy sky.

essayNations and empires

The Singapore strategies

The nation’s water is secure, but its food is another matter: lessons from the city-state in efficiency versus self-sufficiency

Peter A Coclanis

Photo of an older man with white hair and beard in a cityscape with tall modern buildings in the background.

videoEconomics

A tour of New York’s gaudiest neighbourhood with the Marxist geographer David Harvey

13 minutes

essayCognition and intelligence

The fog of hunger

From childhood, women are trained to restrict their appetite. And there’s a huge, hidden, cognitive price to pay for it

Sarah Berg

Abstract painting with blurred blue, yellow and black shapes creating a soft, dreamlike texture.

videoMetaphysics

‘Repulsion, at the core of attraction’ – on the paradox of touch

7 minutes

Illustration of two people embracing while riding through green waters on a pink river dolphin wearing a hat, with houses and trees in the background.

essayAnthropology

Dolphins and other lovers

The Andoque of the Amazon know what we have forgotten: the forest’s most beautiful creatures are also its most dangerous

Eliran Arazi

Photo of a large petrified log with vivid red and brown hues in a desert setting with grass and a blue sky.

videoValues and beliefs

Thieves of ‘cursed’ rocks pen letters of remorse to a national park

14 minutes

Illustration of a chaotic procession with figures in historical costume, each with exaggerated expressions and dialogues.

essayPolitical philosophy

In praise of zealotry

Early feminists like Mary Astell and Catharine Macaulay refused their male peers’ advice to remain polite in debate. Why?

Geertje Bol

Photo of two dressed-up rodents in a salon, one holding a comb with a speech bubble that reads, “I’m a beautician not a magician,” behind the other holding a mirror.

videoProgress and modernity

Torrington has some 240 residents – and one unusual tourist attraction

14 minutes

Illustration of a worm underground beneath grass and wildflowers showing roots in a cross-section view.

essayEcology and environmental sciences

Worm munch matters

The lives that slither and scurry beneath the soil’s surface are vital for ecological health: now we can listen in to them

Ella Browning

Watercolour painting of a rustic house with clothes drying on a balcony clothesline against a textured wall.

essayHome

The neverending house

The self-built homes of Santiago are precarious and ever changing. They are, always and at once, being and becoming

Consuelo Araos

Silhouette of a pyramid at night with a starry sky in the background.

videoNature and landscape

In the remote desert, an awe-inspiring artwork collapses time and space

24 minutes

essayRituals and celebrations

Mecca and the mall

In a bid for spiritual renewal, I made a pilgrimage to Islam’s holy city. Almost everything I expected to see was gone

Azania Imtiaz Patel

Photo of two shirtless men lying on a blue inflatable structure, eyes closed, one wearing shorts with patterned stripes.

videoFamily life

A tale of brotherhood, bouncy castles and the American dream

20 minutes

essaySex and sexuality

A second sexual revolution

Until Shere Hite’s Report, even the most daring sexologists refused to listen to what women desired and hated in sex

Rosa Campbell

Sepia-toned photo of an ornate building with spires surrounded by a fence, set on a grassy area under a clear sky.

videoGlobal history

The strange, circuitous history of Europe’s oldest Buddhist temple

19 minutes

A brown dog with ears up and tongue out running on grass towards the camera.

essayKnowledge

How we meet the future

If we couldn’t make generalisations, we would be paralysed by the world’s complexity. Does that ever excuse stereotyping?

Tom Ralston

Two photos of a snowy mountain with a silhouette at the peak against a blue landscape background.

essayPhilosophy of science

Sasquatch science

The hunt for Bigfoot sounds like the opposite of good science, but those pursuing the creature are often serious empiricists

Andrew Bartlett & Jamie Lewis

Painting of a cityscape at night with brightly lit skyscrapers and a large square frame structure in the centre.

videoFairness and equality

Paris’s business district boasts imposing art. But who is it for?

12 minutes

essayStories and literature

Culture clash

C P Snow’s ‘Two Cultures’ lecture provoked a savage response from fellow critic F R Leavis. What was at the heart of it all?

Sam Dresser

Vintage photo of three people skiing across a snowy landscape with poles in hand under a cloudy sky.

videoEarth science and climate

As glaciers melt, a writer considers what stories can do that data cannot

40 minutes

A group of men sitting along a wall in a rustic room, engaging in conversation with visible gestures.

essayEthics

Towards an AI for Africa

Western-developed AI rides roughshod over Ubuntu values of connection and community that animate African ethical life

Fainos Mangena

Photo of a woman in a lab wearing glasses and gloves, examining a test tube with yellow liquid through a glass panel.

videoArt

Transforming scientific enquiry and human bodies into visceral art

17 minutes

An ancient Greek bronze helmet with eye cutouts on a black background.

essayWar and peace

Thucydides the perspicacious

Far from thinking that ‘might makes right’, the great historian’s analysis of war identifies a vice common to all states

David Polansky & Daniel Schillinger

Black and white photo of people in suits walking down a polished corridor in an office or conference setting.

essayPolitics and government

Resist the technocrats

Through international organisations, they wield power under the pretence of simply following the experts. Don’t believe them

Jan Eijking